A rendering of the gym planned for Northstar Academy’s campus in Henrico County. (Images courtesy of Northstar Academy)
Now situated on its new campus in Henrico County, Northstar Academy is expanding its facilities.
The local private school, which offers K-12 and vocational education to students with disabilities, recently held a ground-breaking event to mark the impending construction of a gym on the school’s campus at 11501 Nuckols Road.
The gym project follows Northstar’s relocation to its current location, where the school started to hold classes in August 2022.
The gym is planned to be 16,000 square feet, of which 2,600 square feet will be a multi-purpose room. The overall project, which also includes the creation of an outdoor track and field, is anticipated to cost about $6.8 million and is taking shape on a portion of the school’s parking lot.
Site work for the gym was completed prior to the December ground-breaking event, and the outdoor track and field is anticipated to be operational this winter.
Construction on the gym is expected to start in January, and the plan is for it to be open in September or October of next year, according to Head of School Crystal Trent.
The gym is planned to feature a hearing loop – an audio-enhancing system for people with hearing difficulties – built into the floor of the gym. The system allows sounds in the space to be more easily picked up by Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids.
“If you have a hearing aid or cochlear implant you can walk in and you can hear just as well as anybody else. It’s basically a copper wire in the floor and it works through Bluetooth with those devices,” Trent said.
Baskervill is the project’s architecture firm. EDC is handling project management. As of last week, Northstar was considering three bids by general contractors for the construction of the gym specifically. The multi-purpose room is planned to follow as a separate phase of construction at a later date.
The gym would be the first purpose-built physical fitness space at the campus, which was formerly occupied by Strayer University.
(From left) Northstar Academy Immediate Past Chairman Lemuel Doss, Chairman Richard Bennett, Head of School Crystal Trent and Assistant Head of School Wanda Ramsey at a December ground-breaking event for the school’s upcoming gym.
Northstar bought the property in 2021 from Strayer for $4.5 million. The campus already had a 21,000-square-foot building, and Northstar acquired the property with the intention of adding a gym to the site. The move allowed Northstar to consolidate its operations in one place. The school previously operated its vocational training program at a space on Staples Mill Road.
The school sold its former campus at 8055 Shrader Road for $1.4 million last year. Proceeds from the sale of the Shrader Road property and a fundraising campaign are being used to cover costs related to the purchase of the new campus, renovations and the expansion project.
Northstar has about 130 students. Its tuition varies based on grade level. The lower school’s annual tuition is $27,700, while the middle school costs $28,200 and the upper school costs $28,700 per year, according to the school’s website.
The nonprofit organization reported $9.6 million in total revenue and $4.1 million in expenses in fiscal year 2022, according to tax filings.
Northstar’s upcoming gym is one of several capital projects that are either in the works or recently completed at local private schools.
Henrico-based Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is expanding its facilities with a gym and more classrooms anticipated to be completed in fall 2024. Grace Christian School recently completed an expansion project that added a 18,000-square-foot, two-story wing to the church in Mechanicsville where it operates.
A rendering of the gym planned for Northstar Academy’s campus in Henrico County. (Images courtesy of Northstar Academy)
Now situated on its new campus in Henrico County, Northstar Academy is expanding its facilities.
The local private school, which offers K-12 and vocational education to students with disabilities, recently held a ground-breaking event to mark the impending construction of a gym on the school’s campus at 11501 Nuckols Road.
The gym project follows Northstar’s relocation to its current location, where the school started to hold classes in August 2022.
The gym is planned to be 16,000 square feet, of which 2,600 square feet will be a multi-purpose room. The overall project, which also includes the creation of an outdoor track and field, is anticipated to cost about $6.8 million and is taking shape on a portion of the school’s parking lot.
Site work for the gym was completed prior to the December ground-breaking event, and the outdoor track and field is anticipated to be operational this winter.
Construction on the gym is expected to start in January, and the plan is for it to be open in September or October of next year, according to Head of School Crystal Trent.
The gym is planned to feature a hearing loop – an audio-enhancing system for people with hearing difficulties – built into the floor of the gym. The system allows sounds in the space to be more easily picked up by Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids.
“If you have a hearing aid or cochlear implant you can walk in and you can hear just as well as anybody else. It’s basically a copper wire in the floor and it works through Bluetooth with those devices,” Trent said.
Baskervill is the project’s architecture firm. EDC is handling project management. As of last week, Northstar was considering three bids by general contractors for the construction of the gym specifically. The multi-purpose room is planned to follow as a separate phase of construction at a later date.
The gym would be the first purpose-built physical fitness space at the campus, which was formerly occupied by Strayer University.
(From left) Northstar Academy Immediate Past Chairman Lemuel Doss, Chairman Richard Bennett, Head of School Crystal Trent and Assistant Head of School Wanda Ramsey at a December ground-breaking event for the school’s upcoming gym.
Northstar bought the property in 2021 from Strayer for $4.5 million. The campus already had a 21,000-square-foot building, and Northstar acquired the property with the intention of adding a gym to the site. The move allowed Northstar to consolidate its operations in one place. The school previously operated its vocational training program at a space on Staples Mill Road.
The school sold its former campus at 8055 Shrader Road for $1.4 million last year. Proceeds from the sale of the Shrader Road property and a fundraising campaign are being used to cover costs related to the purchase of the new campus, renovations and the expansion project.
Northstar has about 130 students. Its tuition varies based on grade level. The lower school’s annual tuition is $27,700, while the middle school costs $28,200 and the upper school costs $28,700 per year, according to the school’s website.
The nonprofit organization reported $9.6 million in total revenue and $4.1 million in expenses in fiscal year 2022, according to tax filings.
Northstar’s upcoming gym is one of several capital projects that are either in the works or recently completed at local private schools.
Henrico-based Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is expanding its facilities with a gym and more classrooms anticipated to be completed in fall 2024. Grace Christian School recently completed an expansion project that added a 18,000-square-foot, two-story wing to the church in Mechanicsville where it operates.